The 25 Worst Movies Ever Made
Giant Freakin Robot's team compiled the 25 worst movies ever made according to critics, a list led by Is That A Gun In Your Pocket and The Singing Forest.
CRITICS 25 WORST MOVIES EVER MADE
Worst Movies Ever According To Critics 1 – 10
- Is That A Gun In Your Pocket
- The Singing Forest
- United Passions
- The Garbage Pail Kids Movie
- The Hottie & The Nottie
- Baby Geniuses
- National Lampoon’s Gold Diggers
- Left Behind
- Death of a Nation
- The Master of Disguise
Critics Worst Movies 11 – 20
- Persecuted
- Bio-Dome
- The Emoji Movie
- The Last Days Of American Crime
- Pinocchio (2002)
- Ballistic: Ecks Vs. Sever
- London Fields
- The Avengers (1998)
- The Adventures of Pluto Nash
- 3 Strikes
Critics Worst Movies 21 – 25
Since the dawn of the artist, there has been a critic lurking close by to pass judgment on the work of others. Aristotle criticized Greek plays, William Shakespeare had Ben Jonson, and, in our modern era, we have the internet, where writers can put their fingertips to keyboards and express through the anonymity of their computer screens their pure hatred for the latest Hollywood blockbuster. With that in mind, our team of movie experts has scoured these rotten reviews to come up with a list of the 25 worst movies ever made, according to the critics.
From terrible comedies with jokes that miss the laugh like Bio-Dome and 3 Strikes to unwanted television spin-off movies like the ’90s spy trainwreck The Avengers, these are the films that caused the blood pressure to rise in critics the most as they felt their brain cells disintegrate from the sheer act of watching awful movies.
Using information gathered from the Internet Movie Database (IMDb), Rotten Tomatoes, and Metacritic, we’ve put together a list of the 25 worst films as seen through the eyes of critics.
WORST MOVIES EVER MADE: THE CRITICS’ BOTTOM 10
1. Is That A Gun In Your Pocket
The Matt Cooper Texas comedy Is That A Gun In Your Pocket? (2016) is a prime example of a film that many critics consider among the worst movies ever made, and yet, audiences seem to love it.
The Southern comedy is a modern take on the ancient Greek comedy Lysistrata by Aristophanes. In the original play, Lysistrata convinces the women of Greece to cease having sex with their men until they end the Peloponnesian War. In Is That A Gun In Your Pocket, after a gun incident at a middle school, Jenna Keely convinces the women of her small town in Texas to stop sleeping with their husbands until they get rid of their guns.
The remake of the centuries-old comedy was written and directed by Matt Cooper and stars Andrea Anders, Matt Passmore, and Cloris Leachman. And while the film has a 92 percent Audience Score on Rotten Tomatoes (based on more than 250 ratings), the film was considered a rotten mess by critics, receiving a critic approval rating of 0 percent.
Overall, audiences have found the film funny enough to be rated a B-comedy. Critics disagreed, however, and gave the film harsher reviews, claiming that despite a decent cast, nothing can save the script, which misfires in every direction. – Sckylar Gibby-Brown
2. The Singing Forest
Sometimes bad filmmakers just can’t catch a break. When Stephen Holden from The New York Times reviewed Jorge Ameer’s fantasy romance The Singing Forest (2003), he said that up until this film’s release, Ameer’s previous film Strippers (2000) had been the worst movie (as a critic) he had ever reviewed, then The Singing Forest took over that number one spot.
The Singing Forest is the tale of two lovers who experience romance and die during the Holocaust. One of them reincarnates before the other, appearing back on earth years before the other is reborn. The first man grows up and has a daughter, who also grows up and then falls in love with the man her father believes was his lover from their past life.
In addition to directing, Jorge Ameer also wrote the fantastical script and cast Jon Sherrin, Erin Leigh Price, and Eric Morris as the leads. Ameer also starred in the film, playing the role of Charlie. Many of the smaller parts were filled by crew members, with the pastor also being played by the grip/electric, and editor Dustin Lance Black both cut the film and played the supporting role of Bill.
While much of the film can be forgiven due to its low budget (such as the poor lighting and bad audio), The Singing Forest is at the top of the list for one of the worst movies ever made, according to critics. Not only is the movie unskillfully written (it’s full of soap-opera-inspired dialog), poorly directed, and stiffly acted, but it is also highly offensive with over-the-top usage of Holocaust footage. Overall, The Singing Forest received a flat 0 percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with Metacritic supporting the critical consensus by awarding it 1 out of 100 points. – Sckylar Gibby-Brown
3. United Passions
One of the most important rules of making a good movie is having a hero that the audience can relate to in some way. That was the first downfall for the creators of United Passions (2014), a movie about three FIFA presidents taking over the power of the organization. Maybe the executives at TF1 International thought that the leaders of a corporate organization with a long track record of being ethically ambiguous would be relatable enough for a film, but audiences and critics everywhere disagreed.
Ninety percent funded by FIFA, United Passions tells the history of the association and how the baton of the presidency was passed down from Jules Rimet to Joao Havelange to Sepp Blatter over a 100-year period. The film was released in the summer of 2015 in North America, unfortunately coinciding with the 2015 FIFA Corruption Case and leading critics to believe the film was released as propaganda.
Even if FIFA didn’t release a film that heavily deals with themes of anti-corruption at the same time they were being blasted by the U.S. Government for being a corrupt organization, United Passions would still go down in history as one of the worst movies ever made.
The film has been criticized for picking the extremely boring subject of administrative work as the plot for the film and then pairing it with an equally dull script. And if that wasn’t bad enough, it becomes abhorrently clear while watching the movie that the whole thing was made as a vanity project for a corporate entity. Who wants to watch something like that?
Even the cast and crew of United Passions have apologized for their hand in this movie’s existence. Director Frédéric Auburtin explained that he wasn’t intending to make a propaganda movie but was trying to strike a balance between a wholesome Disney film and a commentary on social and political ideologies. To Auburtin’s defense, making any film of worth would have been difficult with FIFA so involved in the process.
Jason Barry, who plays an investigative reporter in the film, said that FIFA president Sepp Blatter had the actor come back into the studio to re-record his lines because Barry’s tone didn’t match what Blatter wanted for his “vanity project.” Even lead actor Tim Roth, who played Blatter, said he only took the role for the money because his family had been in a bad situation at the time. – Sckylar Gibby-Brown
4. Garbage Pail Kids Movie
The picture for this one almost says it all, but only almost. These days it seems like any toy and character can end up getting its own movie (or even franchise) eventually. In that way, things aren’t all that different from a few decades ago, except now the brands themselves will want to make sure the project isn’t a total disaster. With The Garbage Pail Kids Movie, well, things went real wrong, real quick.
Children of the ’80s will remember the Garbage Pail Kids for their, at the time, taboo playing card names like Evil Eddie or Beast Boyd (the ’80s were worse, what can I say?). Playing card-styled collectibles that came in response to the Cabbage Patch Kids craze, these things were the cut-up of elementary schools everywhere. So, of course, they should get their own movie. Whoops.
The Garbage Pail Kids Movie was a live-action adaptation of the franchise, “bringing to life” the wildly inappropriate characters in such a way that it unintentionally trended more toward horror than originally intended. It’s often cited as one of the worst movies ever made, and a cautionary tale in thinking popular characters will make a good movie no matter what. – Doug Norrie
5. The Hottie and the Nottie
Anyone who turns on an early 2000s Paris Hilton romantic comedy should understand that they’re getting ready to watch B-list humor. Unfortunately for anyone turning on the 2008 Paris Hilton rom-com The Hottie & The Nottie, they’re about to be seriously disappointed by what is often considered one of the worst movies ever made. Even F-grade movies are better than this one.
Written by Heidi Ferer and directed by Tom Putnam, Paris stars as the hot Cristabel Abbott, who is best friends with the not-so-hot June Phigg (Christine Lakin). Since Cristabel has vowed not to date until June finds someone special, Nate Cooper (Joel David Moore) must figure out how to get a guy to like June so that he can finally be with the girl of his dreams. Even if you put aside the extremely sexist and eugenics-based plot, The Hottie & The Nottie is one of the cringiest (and not in a good way) movies ever made.
The Hottie & The Nottie was so bad that after its release in the U.S., marketing tried to bring audiences from the U.K. into the theaters by promoting the movie as “The Number One Film” with a small line at the bottom of the poster clarifying that it was listed as the number one worst film on IMDb’s Bottom 100. The Hottie & The Nottie took a budget of $9 million to make and only earned $1.6 million back, making it one of the worst financial flops ever in movie history. – Sckylar Gibby-Brown
6. Baby Geniuses
Director Bob Clark is responsible for some of the most critically acclaimed comedies of the past four decades. Known for hits like Porky’s and A Christmas Story, Clark has delighted audiences with an eclectic filmography for years. Unfortunately for Clark, they can’t all be winners, as was the case with 1999’s Baby Geniuses.
Starring Kathleen Turner, Christopher Lloyd, Kim Cattrall, and a plethora of babies, Baby Geniuses had box office success that did not translate well with critics of the time. The comedy revolves around talking babies held captive by a team of scientists. But the intelligent infants take matters into their own hands and rebel against their captors.
Baby Geniuses was the first feature film to debut new technology at the time, using computer-generated imagery to animate the babies talking. Still, critics disregarded the visual effects and weren’t keen on the plot.
IMDb gives Baby Geniuses a 2.5/10 rating, and it’s easy to note why. While the movie can be viewed as a callback to the popular Look Who’s Talking franchise of the 1980s and 1990s, it lacked the humor of other movies of a similar genre. There are too many scenes where babies are dancing as dressed-up adult characters from famous movies, like Saturday Night Fever‘s disco look.
The movie is also a waste of its talented adult cast, which includes veterans like Peter MacNicol and Ruby Dee. Baby Geniuses went on to be nominated for Worst Picture at the Razzie Awards, yet it spawned a sequel starring Jon Voight that proved to be a box office bomb. – Matthew Creith
7. National Lampoon’s Gold Diggers
National Lampoon films have showcased talented individuals who would go on to become huge box office draws, including Chevy Chase and Ryan Reynolds. But for every Animal House that the company produced, plenty of clunkers were born. National Lampoon’s Gold Diggers boasted a ridiculous premise and unlikable stars that didn’t sit well with critics when it was released in 2003.
Rotten Tomatoes currently ranks the film with an astounding 0 percent on its Tomatometer, solidifying its failure to gain steam in the 20 years since it hit theaters.
Friends Calvin (Will Friedle) and Leonard (Chris Owens) devise a plan in National Lampoon’s Gold Diggers to marry two elderly sisters, played by veteran actors Louise Lasser and Renée Taylor. Calvin and Leonard believe they can enter into marriage with the older women so they will inherit the ladies’ fortune once they kick the bucket. Of course, they decide to kill their wives and collect their life insurance, but things don’t always go according to plan.
National Lampoon’s Gold Diggers was an embarrassment at the box office and had a theatrical run for only one week. Critics weren’t kind in their reviews of the film, with most believing that the premise wasn’t funny, the characters classless, and the film looked cheaply made. – Matthew Creith
8. Left Behind
Nicolas Cage is one of those actors who seems to take on any role he’s offered, even the bad ones. Evidently, that’s how he ended up starring in one of the worst movies ever made.
Left Behind is the 2014 adaptation of the Christain novel of the same name by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins. It was the second movie adaptation based on the novel, and somehow it did even worse than the first attempt.
While Left Behind: The Movie (2000) was a box-office flop and was marked at 16 percent on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer, Left Behind (2014) was deemed fully rotten, receiving an approval rating of 0 percent. Metacritic was a bit kinder to the film, marking it a 12 out of 100, which showed “overwhelming dislike.”
While critics had a multitude of reasons to call the film bad, the recurring charges seemed to reference the stiff acting, rickety directing, and a terrible script. Though it was marketed as a Christian film on the rapture, many Christain viewers found the film to be extremely offensive and inaccurate to their beliefs.
LaHaye and Jenkins, on the other hand, loved the film and thought it was an excellent adaptation of their book. The pair had both hated the previous adaption, even suing the 2000 film for breach of contract. – Sckylar Gibby-Brown
9. Death of a Nation
A film with such a laughable premise as to draw similarities between the 45th President of the United States, Donald Trump, with the 16th President, Abraham Lincoln, must be a satire or a work of fiction, right?
However, in the case of Death of a Nation (2018), the docudrama is entirely serious. Written, directed, produced, and narrated by right-wing political commentator Dinesh D’Souza, Death of a Nation is a poorly constructed film put together with thinly stretched facts, making it widely considered the worst documentary movie ever made.
In addition to comparing Trump with Lincoln, the film was also criticized for comparing the United States Democratic Party with the Nazi Party of World War II. Furthermore, Peter Sobczynski of the film critic site RogerEbert.com claimed that D’Souza used “cherry-picked facts” in combination with clearly omitted information to persuade his argument.
This misinformation tactic used to prove D’Souza’s point, paired with poorly constructed visuals in desperate need of a new art director, has earned this documentary its place amongst the worst movies ever made, according to critics.
The documentary was nominated for a total of four Raspberry Awards and won two—Worst Screenplay and Worst Remake, Rip-off, or Sequel. – Sckylar Gibby-Brown
10. Master of Disguise
With the exception of a few too many flatulence jokes, most audience members find The Master of Disguise to be a solid family-friendly B-rated comedy film. Critics, on the other hand, expect a bit more wit to come with the delivery of lines and have thus rated The Master of Disguise as one of the worst films ever made.
Perry Andelin Blake helmed The Master of Disguise as his directorial debut, and the film was written by Saturday Night Live alum and world-renowned impressionist Dana Carvey, who also starred in the feature. The story focuses on an Italian waiter who becomes a master of disguise to fight off a criminal mastermind. In addition to Carvey, the film also stars Jennifer Esposito, Harold Gould, and James Brolin.
The main qualms critics had with this feature was that it was a film that promised to be funny yet missed the mark on every joke. Alan Morrison wrote his review for the British film magazine Empire and summarized the sentiment that many critics seemed to share, The Master of Disguise was “a film about idiots, made by idiots, for idiots.”
While the film’s humor was a bit too juvenile to appeal to the film critics of the world, The Master of Disguise did earn some praise for Carvey’s imitative talents and director Blake’s production design. – Sckylar Gibby-Brown
WORST MOVIES EVER MADE 11-20
11. Persecuted
Persecuted is the 2014 Christain crime mystery that follows an evangelical leader who is framed for murder after he refuses to support a senator’s bill that aims to take away Christians’ rights to claim that their religion is the one and only truth. It was written and directed by Daniel Lusko and stars James Remar, Bruce Davison, and Fred Thompson. The film was later adapted into a book by Robin Parrish.
While Persecuted was not nominated for any Raspberry Awards, it was heavily panned by critics at the time of its release. The film has a 0 percent critical rating on Rotten Tomatoes and was given a score of 11 out of 100 on Metacritic, making it one of the worst movies ever made, according to critics.
According to critics, it’s not the acting or directing that makes this film the worst movie ever made. It’s the dangerous script and the message of the film’s theme. According to New York Times film critic Neil Genzlinger, Persecuted is aimed at a “certain breed” of Christians on the religious far right and aims to amplify their fears that Christians are being persecuted in the United States when the reality is quite the opposite.
Justin Chang of Variety called the film “an act of contemptible irresponsibility,” explaining that the world is full of religious persecution, just not Christians in America, and for the film to try and convince their audience otherwise was “self-righteous” and “reckless.” – Sckylar Gibby-Brown
12. Bio-Dome
No one expects any movie starring Pauly Shore as the main protagonist to be a good movie. Though many expect a movie featuring Pauly Shore to at least be funny. Unfortunately, many critics agree that Bio-Dome (1996) does not meet this criterion.
Adam Leff, Mitchell Peck, and Jason Blumenthal co-wrote the story about two moronic best friends who accidentally get themselves stuck in a locked biodome for a year with a group of world-renowned scientists. Directed by Jason Bloom (iZombie), Bio-Dome stars Pauly Shore, Stephen Baldwin, William Atherton, Denise Dowse, Dara Tomanovich, Kevin West, Kylie Minogue, and Joey Lauren Adams.
Bio-Dome is rated at 4 percent on Rotten Tomatoes and received a score of 1 out of 100 on Metacritic. It is only one out of 11 films to have received such a low rating on Metacritic. Among its peers are The Singing Forest, The Garbage Pail Kids Movie, Death of a Nation, and United Passions, all of which appear on this list.
While it’s not considered within the ranks of Groundhog Day (1993), Happy Gilmore (1996), or other great comedies from the ’90s, audiences generally find Bio-Dome to be a stupid and silly movie that’s great for a laugh or two. Critics, on the other hand, consider it one of the worst movies ever made.
Mainly, critics consider Bio-Dome to be one of the worst movies ever made due to the sheer annoyance brought on by Pauly Shore and Stephen Baldwin’s performances together. Shore even co-won the Raspberry Award for Worst Actor for this film, which he shared with Tom Arnold, who was in three bad films that same year. – Sckylar Gibby-Brown
13. The Emoji Movie
When The Lego Movie took an ordinary kids’ toy with no previous related plot and turned it into one of the best-animated movies ever created, Sony Pictures began to brainstorm how they, too, could cash in on Warner Bros.’s success. The best they could come up with was The Emoji Movie, which subsequently went down in history as one of the worst animated movies ever made.
The Emoji Movie is a swing and a miss when it comes to, well, everything. It’s an 86-minute run of corporate propaganda with overdone product placement that takes what could have been an interesting concept and turns it into an unoriginal script. Oh, and it rips off more successful animated films like The Lego Movie (2014), Wreck-It Ralph (2012), and Inside Out (2015). Even the film’s cast of A-list actors (including Sir Patrick Stewart as Poop???) couldn’t retrieve this film from the depths of movie purgatory.
However, despite The Emoji Movie’s terrible reception, the film still managed to make history. It was the first animated feature to win in any of these Razzie Award categories: Worst Picture, Worst Director, Worst Screen Combo, and Worst Screenplay—and it won them all. – Sckylar Gibby-Brown
14. Last Days of American Crime
Released on Netflix at the beginning of June 2020, The Last Days of American Crime is an action heist film written by Karl Gajdusek and based on the graphic novel of the same name by Rick Remender and Greg Tocchini. It takes place in the not-so-distant future (2024), and the government is about to broadcast a signal that makes it impossible for someone to commit a crime. Meanwhile, a group of heisters plans to rob a bank.
The Last Days of American Crime would have been bad enough on its own for its incoherent script, dull acting, and excessive violence. But in addition to being a terrible film in general, the time of its release secured it a spot as one of the worst movies ever made according to critics. The film’s release coincided with the death and protests of George Floyd. As the film features violent content and depictions of police brutality, this was not something that went unnoticed.
Overall, critics found The Last Days of American Crime to be an unnecessarily brutal film with a storyline that dragged on forever before finally meeting with an unsatisfying ending. It received 0 percent approval from critics on Rotten Tomatoes and was given an average score of 15 out of 100 on Metacritic. – Sckylar Gibby-Brown
15. Pinocchio (2002)
Based on the novel The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi, 2002’s Pinocchio was directed by Life is Beautiful filmmaker Roberto Benigni. Unlike the Academy Award-winning film that brought Benigni to international acclaim, Pinocchio was a critically panned effort by the Italian comedian.
Leaning on the story of the puppet who dreams of becoming a real boy, Pinocchio inexplicably starred the then-50-year-old Benigni as the titular childlike character. As a reimagining of the famous fairytale, this updated movie version was regarded as unfunny in its execution and creepily made as what appeared to be a vanity project on behalf of its director and star.
Pinocchio was filmed in Italian but released in the United States with an English dubbing by famous actors like Breckin Meyer, Glenn Close, Eric Idle, John Cleese, Kevin James, and Queen Latifah.
Poorly received by audiences and critics alike, Pinocchio failed to gain attention at the box office despite Benigni’s previous film, Life is Beautiful, grossing over $230 million worldwide. The English dub version of Pinocchio was nominated for several Razzie Awards, including Worst Picture, taking home the prize for Worst Actor. This inclusion by the Razzie Awards was a first for a foreign language movie. – Matthew Creith
16. Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever
Actor Lucy Liu seemed to be everywhere in the late-1990s and early 2000s, amounting to appearances in hit television shows like Ally McBeal and blockbuster movies like Charlie’s Angels. But her collaboration with Antonio Banderas in the critically lambasted Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever made Liu’s resume come to a screeching halt.
As a definitive box office bomb that grossed a mere $20 million against a budget of $70 million, the movie has established itself as the worst-reviewed of all films in the history of Rotten Tomatoes.
Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever stars Antonio Banderas as Jeremiah Ecks, an FBI agent tasked with destroying Defense Intelligence Agent Sever, played by Lucy Liu. A cat-and-mouse game commences until Ecks realizes there might be foul play afoot, and the two team up to investigate what could be a common enemy.
Directed by Thai filmmaker Wych Kaosayananda and written by Spawn screenwriter Alan B. McElroy, Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever was universally detested by critics in 2002. Metacritic currently ranks the film with a Metascore of 19, which typically denotes overwhelming dislike by critics on the site. – Matthew Creith
17. London Fields
It’s not an opinion exclusive to critics that Amber Heard is a bad actress. So, combine Amber Heard as the leading talent with a script based on a book claimed to be unadaptable for film, excessive exposition, and shoddy-at-best directing, and it’s no surprise that London Fields is considered one of the worst movies ever made, according to critics.
London Fields is the story of Nicola Six, a femme fatale who can see visions of the future. When she has a premonition that she will be murdered, she begins a love affair with three men—one of which she knows will be the one to kill her. It’s a neo-noir film directed by Matthew Cullen based on the book of the same title by Martin Amis.
Unfortunately, critics claim that the film adaption is so confusing even fans of the original source material would have a hard time understanding what is going on, despite the dialog trying to explain with overdone exposition. The film has been described as “horrendous,” “trashy,” and “boring”— an overall time waster and not worth the $8 million budget spent to make the film.
It’s a sentiment that audiences clearly agreed with, as London Fields was a total box office flop, only bringing in half a million dollars, not even a quarter of the production cost. – Sckylar Gibby-Brown
18. The Avengers (1998)
The Avengers is the 1998 remake of the beloved 1960s television show of the same name. When it comes to making a spin-off of something that is well-loved, it better be done right. And while the filmmakers for The Avengers probably thought they were doing the best they could, the movie ended up being an absolute flop.
Directed by Jeremiah S. Chechik, The Avengers stars Ralph Fiennes and Uma Thurman as two British agents who must team up to stop the mad scientist, Sir August de Wynter (Sean Connery), from destroying the world with his weather-changing machine.
The Avengers featured a star-studded cast in what ended up being a bust of a film, complete with really bad spy effects, zero chemistry between the actors, and the wrath of fans who felt as though the movie remake was a personal insult to their cult classic series.
The Avengers was nominated for nine Razzie Awards and eight Stinker Awards. It won one Razzie for the Worst Remake or Sequel and one Stinker for the Worst Resurrection of a Show. – Sckylar Gibby-Brown
19. The Adventures of Pluto Nash
Eddie Murphy’s career has had its ups and downs, but the Ron Underwood-directed The Adventures of Pluto Nash might reign supreme as the worst movie of the comedian’s career. Released theatrically in 2002, the movie grossed a measly $7 million at the box office against a budget of $100 million, making it one of the biggest box office bombs in film history.
Not even a talented ensemble cast that included Randy Quaid, Jay Mohr, Peter Boyle, John Cleese, Pam Grier, and Rosario Dawson could save it.
The Adventures of Pluto Nash is set in 2080 when Pluto Nash (Murphy) becomes a nightclub owner. He finds himself in trouble with the lunar mafia after refusing to sell the business to them. Murphy plays multiple roles in the film, as he has done in The Nutty Professor franchise. But as talented as Murphy and some of the other actors in The Adventures of Pluto Nash were, it didn’t save the reputation of a film unsure of what it’s trying to be.
Many critics believed that The Adventures of Pluto Nash confused itself by trying to be a science fiction adventure, comedy, and crime thriller all at the same time. The result is a forgettable mess of a film that Metacritic gives a Metascore of 12, with critics overwhelmingly disliking the movie’s premise, characters, and delivery. – Matthew Creith
20. 3 Strikes
If the movie poster says “from the producers of Dumb and Dumber,” you know you’re not in for a high-brow comedy. However, you might expect something that skillfully combines both stupid and smart jokes to create rib-splitting laughter, the way that the Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels 1994 comedy does.
Unfortunately, 3 Strikes (2000) is all dumb, with no smart laced in, and even the dumb jokes don’t fall in the realm of funny, instead landing somewhere between “flat,” “crude,” or “rude.” As far as the worst movies ever from critics are concerned, this one ranks “highly.”
Written and directed by record producer DJ Pooh, 3 Strikes stars Brian Hooks as Rob Douglas, a man who has been to jail twice, and if he goes again he’ll face 25 years to life. Upon his release, Rob is picked up from prison by his friend J.J. (De’aundre Bonds) in a stolen car that is stopped by police. J.J. blames Rob for the theft, and Rob must prove his innocence so he doesn’t receive a life sentence.
While the film was generally appreciated by audiences for being a dumb comedy, critics found 3 Strikes to be an unoriginal script that relies too much on repeating unfunny gags. Marjorie Baumgarten of the Austin Chronicle summed up critics’ sentiments when she said, “Without much of a story, convincing performances, or visual style to spark your juices, the mind tends to wander.” – Sckylar Gibby-Brown
Critics Worst Movies 21 – 25
21. King’s Ransom
King’s Ransom is a 2005 crime comedy directed by Jeffery W. Byrd, starring Anthony Anderson, Kellita Smith, and Jay Mohr. The film follows a wealthy man who aims to stage his own kidnapping and ransom payment to keep his money away from his wife in their divorce.
The film was panned by critics who claimed King’s Ransom is a would-be comedy that missed the mark due to its unlikable characters and overdone slapstick gags. The film received a 2 percent from critics on Rotten Tomatoes and a score of 11 out of 100 on Metacritic. – Sckylar Gibby-Brown
22. Miss March
Eugine (Zach Creggor) and Cindi (Raquel Alessi) plan to lose their virginities to each other on prom night, but then Eugine falls into a four-year coma. When he wakes up, his best friend Trevor (Tucker Cleigh) shows Eugine that Cindi has become a centerfold model with Playboy, and the two aim to break into the mansion to unite with her.
Written and directed by Zach Creggor and Trevor Moore, Miss March (2009) was despised so strongly by reviewers that online critic James Berardinelli described it as a better form of torture than waterboarding. Overall, the film received 5 percent from critics on Rotten Tomatoes and a score of 7 out of 100 on Metacritic. – Sckylar Gibby-Brown
23. Love, Weddings, and Other Disasters
Sometimes, like in the case of Love Actually (2003), a multi-story romance comes along that influences the genre of romantic comedy forever. And sometimes, like in the case of Love, Weddings, and Other Disasters (2020), a movie is made 20 years after the ensemble cast fad has faded and a terrible film is released.
Love, Weddings, and Other Disasters is such a poor excuse for a romantic comedy that they warned the audience in the title. A supposed comedy about, well, love and weddings, Love, Weddings, and Other Disasters failed to woo critics at the box office and instead earned a whopping 3 percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a firm 11 out of 100 on Metacritic. – Sckylar Gibby-Brown
24. One Missed Call
While the original Japanese horror film, One Missed Call (2003) didn’t sit well with critics, receiving a 44 percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, the American remake in 2008 did even worse. It’s easy to see why it was one of the worst movies ever according to critics.
Directed by Eric Valette, One Missed Call (2008) follows a group of people who receive strange voicemails from their future selves explaining the date and time of their deaths. The bland acting, paired with overdone scare tactics, left critics to title One Missed Call one of the worst films to come out of the 2000s decade. It received a 0 percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes and 24 out of 100 on Metacritic. – Sckylar Gibby-Brown
25. Nothing Left to Fear
Never was a movie title so honest as that of the would-be horror film Nothing Left to Fear (2013). Panned by critics for not having a single scary moment, Nothing Left to Fear was directed by Anthony Leonardi III and stars Anne Heche, James Tupper, and Ethan Peck. It follows a family in search of a better life who are harassed by an unstable pastor.
The film received a 9 percent approval rating by critics on Rotten Tomatoes, while those on Metacritic awarded it a score of 12 out of 100. – Sckylar Gibby-Brown